In the white-ball formats, veteran wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan has emerged as the clear favourite to lead the Pakistan team when the PCB names the touring side for series in Australia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. In the past two days, the Pakistan selectors have conferred with Gary Kirsten, the head coach of white-ball cricket, and PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi.
"The third Test against England finishes on 28th October and the squad has to leave for Australia the next day so the selectors would be announcing the white ball squad by Sunday," a source in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) told PTI.
"Rizwan because of his seniority, his reliability as a player and because of his experience of leading teams well in domestic cricket and PSL is a front-runner to become white-ball captain," the source said.
Babar Azam announced his resignation as Pakistan's captain, citing a desire to concentrate on his batting. Pakistan is scheduled to play nine T20 internationals and nine One-Day Internationals in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Australia. They are also expected to play two Test matches against South Africa before heading back home.
The source claimed since the Board has now given the selectors the right to pick the captain. It appears that Aaqib, Azhar Ali, and Aleem Dar have previously spoken with Rizwan and asked if he would be willing to assume this role. The source stated that after resting and missing the last two Test matches against England, the selectors are probably going to add Naseem Shah, Babar Azam, and Shaheen Shah Afridi to the white ball squad.
"The selectors are also keen to have some new young players in the squad so there is every likelihood they might announce different squads for the three tours to give exposure to more players and also rest to seniors," the source confirmed.
